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Ash, Solicitor

Category: Law

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Experience: Solicitor with 5+ years experience

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Three years ago I entered into an agreement with Eon to supply

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Three years ago I entered into an agreement with Eon to supply electricity to a pub/restaurant for £2,500 pmThe meter in the building was said by Eon to be unreliable for an accurate reading and would need to be changed before they could get a useable reading, hence the £2,500 was to cover the supply until they fitted said new meter.I had suggested via an email that I should pay a fixed amount pm until they got a meter fitted that would give accurate readings. They agreed. There was no other contract written or implied.I did not agree to there being any correction based on the figures that would be generated by the new meter.It took them three years to change the meter, all that time they were sending estimated readings which ended up with a £35,000 underpayment. Now they have the benefit of real readings they have decided that the estimated bills were actually in line with the actuall usage and they now want full payment.If I accepted this, which I don’t. I got no duty of care from Eon.I expected a new meter within three months, not three years.If they had have made this point three years ago I would have had opportunity to mitigate my position.Eon have never pressed for the estimated payments until now.Andrew

Whether or not I have a case. In the absence of anything else I believe the exchange of emails agreeing to a payment plan is simply that. It does not agree to pay more or less when they have the correct meter readings available to them.Will a judge think along the same lines?Would you like to see the letters?

The £2500 was what was agreed we should pay Eon to cover the cost of the supply. It started off at £3,000 but was reduced after a couple of months.The two letters attached are the only correspondence we had between us regarding how much I would cover the cost of supply.

HiThe reason we had to agree a reasonable monthly amount was that they said the existing meter was not able to give a meaningful reading. All the estimated statements they sent were ignored by both parties. So, no accurate meter readings were available for the three years this dragged on for.Interestingly, when the new meter was finally commissioned last November I was told that the new readings were “in line” with the old meters readings... but that’s another argument.

No. The reason I paid them a set amount each month was that they declared the old meter was useless.The old meter has never played a part as regards ***** ***** we did or didn't use.As previously mentioned, now they are taking a proper reading from the new meter they say the consumption appears to be in line with the old meter. So what? We had a deal to pay an amount until they got me a new meter which would give accurate readings. I say based upon our simple agreement that I don't owe them the difference. I paid what they asked for every month without fail.

Ok. In my view you are not liable. They have no accurate reading of when you moved in. They only have a reading of the new meter and although they have back calculated, there is nothing to say that your usage has been less or more than the backdated usage.You should raise a formal complaint and dispute it. They will investigate the matter and report back to you. If they find against you then you can always complain to the Ombudsman.They offer a free, independent service and can examine your complaint for free at: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/energy.htmlBut based on what you have said, they have no way of knowing what you have actually used.Can I clarify anything for you about this today please?Alex

Good luck Andrew.AlexIf this answers your question could I invite you rate my answer before you leave today.I am only paid for my work on this question if you rate my answer, using the star system at the top of the screen. Please do not forget! Thank you.Please bookmark my profile if you wish for future help: http://www.justanswer.co.uk/law/expert-alexwatts/

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